Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845

this, they became discouraged and ceased
their opperations; but suddenly discovering, that there was a division in
our midst, their fruitfull imaginations were roused to the utmost, to
invent new schemes to accomplish our destruction

Their first
movement was to sue
Joseph for debt, and with this pretence, they
siezed upon every piece of property belonging to any of the family.
Joseph then had in his possession four
Egyptian Mummies, with the ancient
records that accompanied them. These the mob swore they would take
from the meeting House; and burn every one of them. Accordingly they
obtained an execution upon them, for an unjust debt of 50 dollars.
but by various stratagems we succeeded in
keeping them out of their hands, and they were not permitted to destroy
the only evidence, which was accessible to the world, of the truth of the
Book of Mormon

The persecution
finally became so violent
that
Joseph regarded it as unsafe to remain any longer
in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

.
One evening before finishing his preparations for the contemplated
journey, he sat in council at our houce. After giving them directions as
to what he desired them to do, while he was absent from them, and as
he was about leaving the room he said “Well, brethren I do not recollect
any thing more; but one thing, brethren, is certain; I shall see you
again, let what will happen; for I have a promise of life five years, and
they cannot kill me until that time has expired.

That night he
was warned by the spirit, to make his escape with his family, as speedily
as possible; he therefore arose from his bed, and took his family with
barely beds and clothing sufficient for them, and left
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

this, they became discouraged and ceased
their opperations; but suddenly discovering, that there was a division in
our midst, their fruitfull imaginations were roused to the utmost, to
invent new schemes to accomplish our destruction

Their first
movement was to sue
Joseph for debt, and with this pretence, they
siezed upon every piece of property belonging to any of the family.
Joseph then had in his possession four
Egyptian Mum[m]ies, with the ancient
records that accompanied them. These the mob swore they would take
from the meeting House; and burn every one of them. Accordingly they
levied
<obtained> an execution upon them, for an unjust debt of 50 dollars.
but by various stratagems one we succeeded in
keeping them out of their hands, and they were not permitted to destroy
the only evidence, which was accessible to the world, of the truth of the
Book of Mormon

The persecution
finally became so hot violent
that
Joseph regarded it as unsafe to remain any longer
in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

.
One evening before finishing his preparations for the contemplated
journey, he sat in council at our houce. After giving them directions as
to what he desired them to do, while he was absent from them, and as
he was about leaving the room he said “Well, brethren I do not recollect
any thing more; but one thing, brethren, is certain; I shall see you
again, let what will happen; for I have a promise of life five years, and
they cannot kill me until that time has expired.

That night he
was warned by the spirit, to make his escape with his family, as speedily
as possible; he therefore arose from his bed, and took his family with
barely beds and clothing sufficient for them, and left
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

, on 23 January
1845, Smith informed him, “I have by the council of the 12 [Apostles]
undertaken a history of the family, that is my Fathers Family and my own.” She
added:

People are
often enquiring of me the particulars of Joseph’s getting the plates seeing the
angels at first and many other thing which Joseph never wrote or published I
have told over many things pertaining to these matters to different persons to
gratify their curiosity indeed have almost destroyed my lungs giving these
recitals to those who felt anxious to hear them I have now concluded to write
down every particular as far as possible and if those who wish to read them
will help me a little they can have it all in one piece to read at their
leasure—

To help
defray the cost of publication she asked William to start a subscription to
raise about $100 to buy paper to print her history (Lucy Mack Smith, Nauvoo,
IL, to William Smith, 23 Jan. 1845, CHL).

Later that year
on 8 October, at a general conference of the
church being held in the
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839...

spoke of the completion of her project.
According to the conference minutes she “gave notice that she had written her
history, and wished it printed before we leave this place” (“Conference
Minutes,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1845, 6:1014). However,
arrangements could not be made for its publication prior to the Saints’
departure from Nauvoo. It was eventually printed by
Orson
Pratt

Seaport, city, county borough, and market-town in northwestern England. Experienced exponential growth during nineteenth century. Population in 1830 about 120,000. Population in 1841 about 290,000. First Mormon missionaries to England arrived in Liverpool...

Years later,
Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, writing from
Provo, Utah, in June 1865, responded to a
request from
Brigham
Young

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

’s history. Regarding Smith, Coray
wrote, “I was her amanuensis at the time the Book was written.” She then cited
her own practice of “noting down everything, I heard and read which possessed
any peculiar interest to me. . . . I was occupied, from time to time as
occasion offered, in making notes of sermons, and other things which I thought
reliable such as: discourses by yourself, the twelve, and other responsible
men.” She then related that this practice “made it an easy task for me to
transmit to paper” what Smith dictated to her. She added, “Hyrum

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co., by...

and
Joseph were dead, and thus without their aid, she
[Lucy] attempted to prosecute the work, relying chiefly upon her memory. . . .
There were two Manuscripts prepared, one copy was given to Mother Smith, and
the other retained in the Church” (Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, Provo, UT, to
Brigham Young, 13 June 1865, Brigham Young Office Files, CHL).

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

during the
fall and winter 1844–1845.
Then, in early 1845, utilizing
the rough draft and other notes and sources, the Corays apparently penned two
revised, or “fair,” copies. The sole extant fair version is titled “The History
of Lucy Smith Mother of the Prophet.” Miscellaneous fragments included with the
rough draft copy suggest that the Corays may also have produced an intermediate
draft prior to transcribing the two fair copies. Assuming an intermediate draft
once existed in some form, most of it has been lost.

obtained a U.S. copyright for her manuscript on 18
July 1845. (Copyright for Lucy Mack Smith, “The History of Lucy Smith,”
18 July 1845, Robert Harris, Copyright Registry Records for Works Concerning
the Mormons to 1870, CHL). According to the “History of Brigham Young,” on
10 November of that same year,
Young

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

for his labor in compiling the same” (History of the Church,
7:519). No currently extant record indicates whether Smith was actually
approached about selling her copyright to the church, nor is it known if the
Corays were compensated as indicated above.

As previously
noted, one of the two prepared fair copies was given to
Smith

Created as district for seat of U.S. federal government by act of Congress, 1790, and named Washington DC, 1791. Named in honor of George Washington. Headquarters of executive, legislative, and judicial branches of U.S. government relocated to Washington ...

. Pratt took it to
England where he had it printed by the end of that
summer under the title Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the
Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations, by Lucy Smith, Mother of the
Prophet. The fair copy adapted for the
Liverpool

Seaport, city, county borough, and market-town in northwestern England. Experienced exponential growth during nineteenth century. Population in 1830 about 120,000. Population in 1841 about 290,000. First Mormon missionaries to England arrived in Liverpool...

The second fair
copy was apparently given to the church before the Saints departed from
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839...

. Records of a
4 April 1855 inventory of the Historian’s
Office included an entry for “Mother Smiths Mss History” (Schedule of Church
Records. Nauvoo 1846,” [1]; “Inventory, Historian’s Office, 4th April 1855,”
[2], Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL). It seems
that the Corays retained the
rough draft
and transported it to Utah.

1 June 1801–29 Aug. 1877. Carpenter, painter, glazier, colonizer. Born at Whitingham, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of John Young and Abigail (Nabby) Howe. Brought up in Methodist household; later joined Methodist church. Moved to Sherburne, Chenango Co., New...

Seaport, city, county borough, and market-town in northwestern England. Experienced exponential growth during nineteenth century. Population in 1830 about 120,000. Population in 1841 about 290,000. First Mormon missionaries to England arrived in Liverpool...

’s history. Young had not authorized its publication and
believed it contained historical errors. In 1865,
Young and his counselors in the First Presidency of the church formally
recalled the Liverpool edition. According to
Wilford Woodruff

’s journal for
22 April 1866, Young asked Woodruff to
request church historian
George A. Smith

26 June 1817–1 Sept. 1875. Born at Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., New York. Son of John Smith and Clarissa Lyman. Baptized into LDS church by Joseph H. Wakefield, 10 Sept. 1832, at Potsdam. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, 1833. Labored on Kirtland temple...

and
JS’s uncle,
Elias
Smith, to revise the text so that it could be reissued in a corrected
edition. However, despite expectations, a revised version was not issued during
Young’s lifetime. It was not until 1901 that the church released an authorized
edition, in serial form in the Improvement Era. The serial began
in the November 1901 issue under the title “History of the Prophet Joseph
Smith” and concluded in the January 1903 issue. When published in book form in
1902, it bore the title History of the Prophet Joseph Smith by His
Mother Lucy Smith as Revised by George A. Smith and Elias Smith.
Subsequently, other popular editions have appeared.

’s account lies in her offering a
wife and mother’s perspective on her family’s role in the early church. She
illuminates the family setting that fostered the birth of Mormonism and retells
incidents and interactions recounted nowhere else. Though there are errors in
the dating of some events and occasionally in place and individual names,
overall her account is of inestimable value, providing a rarely heard woman’s
voice as it traces
JS’s life from beginning to end. She was present
at many seminal events and offered insights no one else could provide.

related an account of her family’s early
experiences and support of
JS during the founding era of the church.
Adversity and persecution are vividly evident, as are hard work, faith, love,
and testimony. Many details that we know about early church history can be
attributed to Lucy, such as JS’s leg operation when he was a child; the death
of JS’s oldest brother,
Alvin

11 Feb. 1798–19 Nov. 1823. Farmer, carpenter. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; returned to Tunbridge, before May 1803. Moved to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804, and to...

12 July 1771–14 Sept. 1840. Cooper, farmer, teacher, merchant. Born at Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Asael Smith and Mary Duty. Nominal member of Congregationalist church at Topsfield. Married to Lucy Mack by Seth Austin, 24 Jan. 1796, at Tunbridge...

; and a wife and mother’s grief as she buries her “beloved
husband” and many of her children. She also provided details and perspective
about missions, moves, travels, mobbings, and arrests that are not available
elsewhere.

Published here is the the Corays’ 1845 fair copy retained by
the church. (The 1844–1845 rough draft is also available on this
website.)